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Social media has taken a significant role in the marketing and operation of businesses in the digital age. This influence has been so profound that it has produced an entirely new type of marketing job in the form of a social media marketing specialist. Before hiring anyone to manage the social media for your company, it is important to have a basic understanding of the impact each social media community can have on your marketing efforts. In terms of Facebook for business, the key is to engage customers so that you remain at “top of mind” when the time comes to use your service.

Facebook is more about Branding and Customer Retention, Not Acquisition

It is important to understand when establishing a Facebook presence what your goals are. As any experienced social media marketing specialist can explain, each outlet has different uses in the marketing world, and Facebook is no exception. Many times, people think that if they set up a Facebook account for their company they will magically start getting likes, and their brand will simply explode due to all of the extra exposure. This is unrealistic.

Though Facebook will occasionally lead a customer to your company, and can be quite effective in that regard for certain industries, the simple fact is that the platform is not intended for businesses. However, Facebook can work as a great tool to keep your business on your customers’ radar. By regularly posting updates, your product or service can stay fresh in peoples’ minds.

Your Only Expense is Time

Though there is the option to purchase Facebook ads, which can be very effective, the cornerstone of a successful Facebook marketing strategy does not require any paid advertising. The real keys to success are simple: keep a consistent voice and remain true to your brand, regularly make posts, and engage with customers. If your business is small, you may even be able to devote enough time each day to do this yourself. If you can afford it, you can hire a company to monitor your account and keep your content fresh.

Ultimately, the key to success on Facebook is the same as any other marketing program. You need your message to stay in front of customers, and let them know that your value. By establishing this connection, you can help ensure that your business comes to mind when they need your service.

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It started back in 2012, when a terrifying statistic made its way around business circles: Facebook posts acquire half of their reach within 30 minutes of posting. While marketers had long observed this phenomenon and adjusted their plans accordingly, suddenly their non-marketing-department colleagues or even bosses wanted to know what they were doing about it. Hence today, the number of studies attempting to answer this very question is greater than all the cute puppy pic Likes put together.

We here at Brandsplat occasionally read such a study, snorting derisively at its conclusions: “First thing in the morning!” “Saturday, around noon Pacific.” “Right before the competition!” (How would that last one even work?)

We’re going to let you in on a little secret: The best time to post on Facebook is “it depends.”

Just like all aspects of your business’s marketing campaign, the right time to connect with your audience via Facebook depends largely on two things: who they are and what they want. Using Facebook’s analytics, look at the age, gender and location of your visitors. Then imagine what their day-to-day life is like. Are they mostly women, aged 45-64, in North America? Many of these women may be stay-at-home mothers or caregivers to elderly parents who are Facebooking for a break from the action. Check on visitor trends with your Facebook Insights tool to see when they post pictures, comment or share. That’s their down time — it’s when they’re at their most relaxed and interested in engaging with you. Find out when that is and hire us to camp out online and really be there with them.

But remember: If you’re a national or international company, there will be many more opportunities to engage, but the windows will be more narrow, thanks to differing time zones. All the more reason to have someone else handle the task.

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1.) Sweet Screams: Fandango wants fans to scream their heads off on social media. According to ClickZ, “From October 1 to 18, Scream-Off fans can submit videos of their best ‘blood-curdling, skin-crawling screams’ on Instagram or Twitter, with the hashtag #FandangoScreamContest and @Fandango.” Fandango will pick a Scream of the Day and feature it on the site before moving it to the next round of competition. The best screamer gets a stay at the legendary Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where The Shining was filmed.

2.) IPOh!: Late Thursday afternoon, Twitter filed its paperwork with U.S. securities regulators in hopes of being a social media IPO that really delivers. Twitter is hoping that the ever-exploding mobile market will give it a leg up on Facebook. Social media marketers can expect Twitter’s decision to go public to mean a larger emphasis on advertising and mobile-friendly campaigns. But Twitter (or TWTR, as it will be known on the stock ticker) has a long way to go until it can bring in the ad bucks like Google or Facebook, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

3.) Drawn Together: Beer maker Steinlager wants its consumers to “be the artist, not the canvas” in a new spot which shows a mischievous young man who draws on his friends who have had too much to drink. The smart and funny commercial is accompanied by a “be the artist” app which gives users a chance to make and share their own ink masterpieces.

4.) Adstagram: We knew it would come to this… Instagram announced this week that it would finally start delivering on the promise of introducing advertisements into U.S. feeds. Only a select group of brands that are already Instagram users will get to show ads first. The ads will slowly start appearing over the next few months. In contrast, complaints about the ads have already appeared on pretty much every other social network.

5.) Bless You: Wrapping up our list is a little slice of online video creation that perfectly mixes “eww” with “aww.” The fine folks at Kleenex remind us not to get caught without a tissue by using people with signs telling their true sneeze confessions. It’s a simple, short and very memorable spot for a brand on the verge of a hipper, lighter digital makeover.

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Just because we love you, we promise that the following post will not, under any circumstances, make mention of Miley Cyrus, complain about iOS 7 or include Instagrammed pictures of the salad we had for lunch. Nope, our 5 Things list simply features the best stories from the worlds of digital engagement and online marketing that you might have missed. And really, what else do you need?

1.) Gravity Defied: A groundbreaking technological thriller like the new movie “Gravity” should have an incredible website, and that it does. The site allows visitors to put on their own spacesuits like the ones George Clooney and Sandra Bullock wear in the film and try to make it back to the spaceship in an online and mobile app game. It also features that creepy music you hear in the trailers along with videos guaranteed to freak you out.

2.) Haunted Hilarity: Nightmare Fear Factory, a Canadian-based haunted house attraction, is back with more funny photos of folks getting the crap scared out of themselves. For the third year in a row, the company posted shots of visitors to its haunted house in all of their freaked out and frightened glory. The shots are a viral hit every year and a perfect example of a smaller company using images on social media to really scare up new followers.

3.) Tweeted and Booted: Twitter marketing rocks for back and forth with customers, but only if you’re open to it. Mark Leiser of Scotland claims that UK discount airline easyJet refused to let him board after he tweeted a pointed critique of the airline. Leiser says an employee of easyJet told him, “You’re not allowed to talk about easyJet like that and then expect to get on a flight.” Naturally, easyJet says it would never deny boarding to a passenger based on remarks made on social media. Either way, the Twitter era continues to prove that how we respond to customer complaints has never been more important (or more visible).

4.) The Return of Rob: Dior scored a triple using Twilight heart-throb Rob Pattinson in a new campaign. First, the hashtag #DiorRob has gone viral with vampire-loving people everywhere. Second, the online videos for Dior featuring the star have racked up a combined nearly 10 million total views in less than a month, making them the most popular commercial currently on the Internet. Third, #DiorRob has single-handedly revived a men’s fragrance line. Maybe Rob’s popularity, like his vampire character, really will live forever?

5.) Bad Kitty: We wrap up this week’s list with another Halloween branding story. After blogs crucified Wal-Mart for carrying a child’s Halloween costume provocatively titled “Naughty Leopard,” the chain has apparently pulled the item from its stores. The costume ticked off more than a few parents and feminists so Wal-Mart’s move was probably a good one. Yikes. And we thought Sexy Big Bird was scary.

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Facebook for business continues to evolve, and so do the ways marketers use the platform. Long gone are the days of branded Facebook pages rich in one-sided, sales-driven messages. Today, company Facebook pages can be information hubs, industry journals and a lively spot to talk to followers. Leave it to the fashion industry to come up with smart, stunning and stylish ways to market on Facebook.

When an old-school fashion staple like Burberry wants to reach out to a younger buyer, Facebook is an ideal place to start. Burberry’s page is filled with the kind of luxury the brand has always been associated with but bent to a hipper, more youthful audience. Currently, the page features photos from a new campaign featuring UK “It Couple” Tom Sturridge and Sienna Miller, for example. Burberry also takes advantage of Facebook’s improved video capabilities by posting videos from recent runway shows.

But let’s say you’re not that fancy a dresser. Fine. With nearly 38 million “likes,” Converse must be doing something right. The iconic shoe company uses Facebook to post the kind of things its fans are into, like music, skateboarding and viral videos. Converse excels at speaking to followers rather than at them and therefore encourages lively discussions in its comments sections.

And for incredibly chic and trendy foreign fashion labels like UNIQLO, Facebook is a must. The Japanese retailer is opening 10 more stateside stores this fall, so a steady stream of interesting posts and fabulous photos is essential for keeping fans, both new and old, excited.

Who needs a glossy, overpriced fashion magazine when you’ve got Gucci’s Facebook page? The mainstay of high-end branding for 92 years running stays fresh and on the cutting edge with a Facebook page chock full of slick videos, incredible images and the latest from the runways. Gucci keeps its whopping 11 million fans on the edge of their seats by continuously updating, reinventing and changing its page.

In the end, that’s what great Facebook marketing is all about. Every business can take a cue from the fashion industry and keep their pages as fresh and innovative as the designs coming off the runway.